ARTICLE 19 calls on the Ukrainian government to publicly condemn the killing of environmental information activist, Volodymyr Honcharenko as a crime against free speech and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice via an independent and transparent process

“My victory in Strasbourg will be not only legal, but also political: in Ukraine the days of the dictator are short. The trials of those who carried out and ordered the political prosecutions will take place in a different fashion than my trial and that of Tymoshenko” (Yury Lutsenko)

The President and his Administration still appear to be basking in the illusion that all they need is another “working group” for the astounding indifference to democratic principles, Ukraine’s citizens and the country itself in his signing the language law to pass unnoticed

For the coming parliamentary elections to be competitive misuse of administrative resources and bribery of voters must have legal consequences, and all candidates must be equal before the law.

Russia’s most famous prisoner said on Monday that three women from the Pussy Riot band may have gone too far by protesting on a cathedral altar, but likened their trial to a medieval inquisition and said their prison regime may amount to torture

The human rights organization Donetsk Memorial has addressed an open appeal to the President, Prosecutor General and Human Rights Ombudsperson regarding what it calls systematic violations by the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine’s Constitution and laws

Reporters Without Borders urges Ukraine’s parliamentarians to abandon this bill, which it considers repressive, punitive and counter-productive.

On 31 July Parliamentary Speaker Lytvyn changed his stand, taken only 3 weeks earlier, and signed the highly contentious language bill which under the guise of protecting “regional languages” significantly increases the role of the Russian language.

Russian anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has been charged with embezzlement in a case he describes as "strange and absurd".

Iryna Stasiv-Kalynets, poet, artist and former political prisoner has died at the age of 71. Active in the Ukrainian national liberation and human rights movements, she was a person of strong convictions and steadfast commitment.

It is one of the most controversial cases in a long time: the Moscow trial against punk band Pussy Riot. The three young musicians face seven years in prison for staging an anti-Putin protest in a church.

Belarusian human rights activists have issued an appeal calling on the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General’s Office to discuss situation with illegal preventive detentions of civil society activists

Four months ahead of a crucial parliamentary election, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has moved to shut down two independent news organisations, including Lb.ua, a reputable online news website.

The actions of those in power regarding criminal prosecutions against Left Bank [LB.ua] and TVi show that they don’t need independent media, particularly with the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Maxim Sereda and Tetyana Pechonchyk have examined the ever-increasing number of occasions where totally peaceful protests are banned in Ukraine, and the frequently extraordinary pretexts offered.

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Russian veteran human rights defender and one of the founding members of the Moscow Helsinki Group (in 1976) turned 85 on 20 July. Together with all her many friends in Russia – very best wishes!

The Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine [VAAD] considers that the Law on Principles of State Language Policy has shattered public consensus regarding the language issue, led to civic confrontation and is first and foremost an attempt to gain extra votes.

A blunt and unequivocal response to President Yanukovych’s statement that the controversial language law must comply with the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages and that it has received a Venice Commission assessment

Less than 4 months before parliamentary elections, the tax police have descended heavily on TVi, one of the last TV channels willing to broadcast views critical of the government

OPORA warns that administrative resources are being used by certain potential electoral players in order to artificially reduce the level of political competition in the country